Colorism- Prejudice or discrimination against individuals with a dark skin tone.

Colorism in the black community has been a serious emotional and psychological issue. The problem stems all the way back to slavery. Women who were raped by their slave owners would birth babies with a much lighter complexion and those babies were seen as a purer form of beauty and put onto a higher pedestal than the slaves of a darker complexion and colorism stretches all the way to today.

I will never seem to understand why someone would hate on another human being for the color of their skin. I find it strange how those same people hate on others for their darker skin tones at the same tim as they make their appointment at the tanning salon. I have seen people insecure about not only being black but for how black they were. They would say how they were black and proud then wish they were light skin. I find it really sad because nobody should be apologetic because of their skin tone, in a country where 80% of the population share the brown skin tone. We should all be proud of it.

Given the fact that there’s so many people in the world that are enriched with melanin, you would think that the beauty industry would’ve came up with more than two foundation colors for darker skin. When you have a dark skin tone it’s very difficult to find foundation that is your color. The shades go from fifteen shades of beige to two shades of a very light brown.

There was an experiment where kids were given two dolls. One doll that is white and one that is black. Then those kids are asked which one is ugly and they choose the one that is darker as the ugly one. When the kids are asked why they say because they’re black. Young kids are being taught that if you are black you are not as beautiful as someone who is white. People might not even realize their resentment to dark skin tones. For example, parents who tell their children “stay out of the sun, you’ll get too dark”. So what is “too dark”? Million of men and women who feel “too dark” have turned to bleaching their skin. Since when has bleached skin become beautiful. I feel nothing is more beautiful than just accepting who you are and embracing it passionately with every bone in your body.